A woman was denied permission from a judge to save her pet from the standing part of the stricken Miami condo prior to the building being completely demolished.
It has been nearly two weeks since the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South, a residential building in Surfside, Florida, near Miami.
Part of the condo had remained intact but was evacuated due to safety concerns. Sadly, an unnamed woman's pet had been left stranded in the condo.
The doting owner had an emergency petition filed on her behalf to save the animal, Miami Herald reports - but to no avail.
Over the weekend, attorney Paula Phillips filed the request for her client Stacey Karron, an animal rescue volunteer and paralegal who hoped to enter the standing portion of the structure in order to save an emotional support pet for one of the residents.
It has not been confirmed, but is believed that the pet in question was a cat named Coco, who lived in a fourth-floor apartment with an 89-year-old woman and her daughter.
However, the request was promptly denied by Judge Michael Hanzman, despite the attorney stating that Karron would have accepted all liability for any injury sustained in the rescue mission.
Hanzman said, per the Miami Herald: "Despite these Herculean efforts and the tireless, daunting work that has been done, there is going to be loss of life here. Loss of human life and animal life."
Philips argued that Karron was fully aware of the risks of the operation, stating: "They understand the risk. They understand the building can come down at any time."
But just about an hour later, with a tropical storm approaching, the condo was demolished in its entirety with the use of explosives.
It was on June 24, that the building experienced a sudden partial collapse. And as of Monday, July 5, 28 people have been confirmed dead, with 117 people still missing, Reuters reports.
A cause for the collapse of Champlain Towers South has yet to be established, however, residents of the condo were purportedly made to believe it was in "very good shape" after structural issues were raised back in 2018.
Rescue teams are continuing their search in the hope of finding the 117 people who are missing.
